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Mothra
Mothra (Moth-ra (モスラ, Mosura) is a monster that has appeared in several Toho tokusatsu films since her introduction in Mothra (1961). Generally regarded as female by audiences, she is a giant lepidopteran with characteristics both of butterflies and of moths. The name "Mothra" is the suffixion of "-ra" (a common last syllable in kaiju names) to "moth". Since the Japanese language does not have dental fricatives, it is approximated "Mosura" in Japanese. In the American dubbing and various posters of Mothra vs. Godzilla, Mothra is also referred to as "The Thing. " She is among Toho's most popular characters, primarily among female fans, and she has appeared in every Godzilla film era. Mothra is usually accompanied by two tiny priestesses or fairies (often called Shobijin—Japanese for "small beauties") who also speak for her. Since her first film, Mothra has been depicted in various stages of the lepidopteran life cycle: Mothra's mammoth egg is decoratively colored in blue and yellow waves. The egg hatches into her larva, a massive brown, segmented caterpillar (resembling a silkworm) with glowing blue—sometimes red—eyes. In rare circumstances, twins may emerge from the egg. The caterpillar eventually spins a silken cocoon around itself (the pupa stage), and from this cocoon the imago (adult) Mothra emerges, a gigantic moth-like creature with brightly-colored wings. Mothra's life cycle—particularly the tendency of an imago's death to coincide with its larvae hatching—echoes that of the Phoenix, resembling resurrection and suggesting divinity. Despite having wrought destruction worthy of any Toho daikaiju, she is almost always portrayed as a kind and benevolent creature, causing destruction only when acting as protector to her worshipers on Infant Island or to her egg, or as collateral damage while protecting Earth from a greater threat. Mothra has proven a formidable adversary in combat: in larval form she may use her silken spray to wrap and immobilize an opponent, and has a knack for biting and clinging to foes' tails. In imago form her powers vary widely from film to film, including very animalistic scratching and dragging, incorporating several bolt and beam weapons in the Heisei era, and often concluding with a poisonous yellow powder (or "scales")—her last defense. Mothra is one of the most powerful psychics in the Toho universe. She has had the ability to use this power benevolently, to communicate with humans, or defensively, to destroy her enemies. As suggested earlier, Mothra is assumed to be divine and draws many parallels to the Phoenix, which makes her one of the more powerful kaiju of the Toho universe. Mothra has become one of Godzilla's most challenging opponents, having achieved the greatest success rate in battle. She has once overcome Godzilla in imago form, and twice Godzilla has fought her to her death only later to be bested by her newborn larvae. It should be mentioned that Mothra has never beaten Godzilla alone (in her Imago Form). The only victory by an insect(s) over Godzilla were the Mothra twin-larvae in Mothra vs Godzilla in the Showa Era, Imago Mothra and Imago Battra in Godzilla Vs Mothra, in the Heisei series and the twin-larvae and Kiryu (MechaGodzilla III) in the Millennium (aka Shinseiga) Series. In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), Mothra is portrayed with purple eyes, although her eyes are normally blue. External Sources *Mothra on Wikizilla Category:Monsters Category:Toho Kaiju Category:Monsters living on Goji Island Category:Kaiju Category:Classic Monsters Category:Comic monsters Category:Video game monsters Category:Monsters living on Monster Island